Editing

How to Cut Your Word Count

by Sabine Berlin The dreaded word cut! We’ve all been there and are with you in spirit! For starters, if you need to know the standard, accepted word counts of your genre, here’s a great article on the topic (pretty critical to getting picked up in traditional...

Conscious Language: Writing with Respect and Compassion

Guest post by Crystal Shelley Writers have many factors to keep in mind when trying to decide what words to put down on paper or type on a keyboard, such as their audience, message, and intent. Another important element to consider is how their language can affect...

Writing a Screenplay? Five Tools to Get Started on Your Blockbuster

by Julia King with screenplay editor Amy Jones Captivating entertainment begins with a great story, and a great story starts with a great script. Are you inspired to develop an idea for a movie or turn your novel or short story into a movie script or play but don’t...
7 Steps for Hiring a Good Editor

7 Steps for Hiring a Good Editor

by Victoria Passey 1. Understand the different types of editing. There are several types of editing: content/developmental editing, substantive/deep-line editing, copyediting, and proofreading, as well as edits for style guides and fact-checking. Together, they create...

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The Fainting Damsel

The Fainting Damsel

Adding Emotion to Your Writing without the Melodrama by Amy Michelle Carpenter and Angela Woiwode Many writers struggle with making their writing shine and adding emotion without making it melodramatic. It can be tempting to rev up the drama in every scene to ensure...

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Setting the Scene, Part 1

Setting the Scene, Part 1

Part 1: Seven Tips by Emilee Newman Bowles Your plot and characters are vital parts of your story, but they need a place to inhabit: the setting. Even fast-paced action novels need setting details so readers can imagine where the characters are. Here a few tips to...

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Outlining versus “Pantsing”

Outlining versus “Pantsing”

by Lindsay Flanagan To outline or not to outline…that is the (much-debated) question. As a writer you may feel like you’re on team outliner (or plotter) or on team “pantser.” Maybe you haven’t decided which side to join. Or maybe you’ve joined one or the other but...

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Internal Dialogue—Getting It Right

Internal Dialogue—Getting It Right

by Heidi Brockbank As editors, we’ve noticed that one of the tools new and even intermediate writers most often mishandle is internal dialogue. While internal dialogue (also called internal monologue) is a powerful tool the writer can use to help a reader make an...

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Top Three Short Story Mistakes

Top Three Short Story Mistakes

by Kristin Ammerman Bestselling authors such as Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jeff Wheeler, Cassandra Clare, Neil Gaiman, and others write novels as well as short stories. There are several reasons why novelists also write short stories. Sense of...

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Boost your confidence with our free author tools.
Feeling overwhelmed or unsure about your book project?
PHEW!